A Second (Bad) Self
“There is a second self inside you, an inner, shadow Self. This self doesn’t care about you. It doesn’t love you. It has its own agenda, and it will kill you. It will kill you like cancer. It will kill you to achieve its agenda, which is to prevent you from actualizing your Self, from becoming who you really are. This shadow self is called, in the Kabbalistic lexicon, the ‘yetzer hara.’ The yetzer hara, Steve, is what you would call Resistance.”
Rabbi Mordecai Finley, in conversation, July 4, 2010
Rabbi Finley
Rabbi Mordecai Finley of Ohr HaTorah congregation in Los Angeles (one of the few rabbis who was a U.S. Marine) is a mentor and friend to me. When I was working on Turning Pro I invited him to breakfast and turned on the tape recorder. The quote above is one of the things that popped out. I came upon it again recently and it struck me with even greater power than it did the first time.
My own conception of Resistance has always been (probably mistakenly) that this force of self-sabotage is “out there” somewhere. I experience it as radiating off the blank page or invading my brain from some other, extra-dimensional location.
Rabbi Finley sees it the other way.
He sees it as a “second self” that lives inside us.
Somehow, to me, that makes it even scarier.
It’s like a sci-fi movie. Like the first Alien.
The first thing I say to myself when I think of Resistance this way (and I do think Rabbi Finley is right) is, Why would our Creator pull such a trick on us?
(Or, if you prefer, Why would Nature/Evolution have evolved us this way?)
Whatever our answer (and I’ve got one for myself), the subjective reality of a “second self” seems undeniable.
This second self seduces us with distractions and excuses. It terrorizes us with visions of our own defeat and humiliation. It whispers to us in the night (and in broad daylight), convincing us that we are without worth, talent, dignity, resolve, courage.
It runs us down.
It sells us short.
It sabotages our best efforts.
It will kill us, as Rabbi Finley says, if we let it.
I declare on the Home Page of this site
Trust me: you will NEVER, NEVER achieve your dreams until you learn to recognize, confront and overcome that voice in your head that is your own Resistance.
The key word here is recognize.
Paradoxically (and aligning perfectly with Rabbi Finley’s statement above) as soon as we recognize this “second self,” fully acknowledge its existence, and grasp the fact that its intentions toward us are diabolically negative, we have found the strategy and the weapon that will help us overcome it.
Awareness first.
Respect for this foe second.
Then: determination and resolution to overcome it.
Our first self is our real self. It is in a battle to the death with our second self.
Which will win?
DO THE WORK
Steve shows you the predictable Resistance points that every writer hits in a work-in-progress and then shows you how to deal with each one of these sticking points. This book shows you how to keep going with your work.
THE AUTHENTIC SWING
A short book about the writing of a first novel: for Steve, The Legend of Bagger Vance. Having failed with three earlier attempts at novels, here's how Steve finally succeeded.
NOBODY WANTS TO READ YOUR SH*T
Steve shares his "lessons learned" from the trenches of the five different writing careers—advertising, screenwriting, fiction, nonfiction, and self-help. This is tradecraft. An MFA in Writing in 197 pages.
TURNING PRO
Amateurs have amateur habits. Pros have pro habits. When we turn pro, we give up the comfortable life but we find our power. Steve answers the question, "How do we overcome Resistance?"
Awareness, respect, determination. Words to live by. Thank you, Steven.
Have you heard a story about An Elephant and A Rider?
No?
Picture this:
Perched atop the Elephant, the Rider holds the reins and seems to be the leader. But the Rider’s control is precarious because the Rider is so small relative to the Elephant. Anytime 6-ton Elephant and the Rider disagree which way to go; the Rider is going to lose, he is entirely overmatched.
This paragraph is taken from the Switch: How to change things when change is hard, by Chip and Dan Heath.
Psychologist Jonathan Haidt developed the original concept. These are also good sources to study because there is a way to understand this inner battle and whats more to win it.
Steven’s books on the topic (re-listening for n-th time Do The Work. Thank you, Steven) help to realize:
a. Everybody goes through this
b. There is a way to win this inner war
c. It is never over
d. Young people should be taught on the subject
I win in the end.
My question is…how does Jonathan Haidt’s Elephant and Rider metaphor jibe with Jill Bolte Taylor’s 4 characters in our brain? And then where does Pressfield’s Resistance from our Shadow Self (Yetzer Hara) play out?
Thanks so much for this, Steve. It reminds me of something financial guru Dave Ramsey has often said, referring to when he was both overweight and broke: “If I can control the guy in the mirror, I can be thin and rich.” By extension, if I can control my second (bad) self, I can get my work done. Words to live by!
“Whatever our answer (and I’ve got one for myself), the subjective reality of a “second self” seems undeniable.”
What is your answer? (I have one, too.)
Breathtaking!! Awesome! How lucky we are to get these posts!!
Plus— ordered your 36 Righteous Men and read it in 2 days. Fabulous! Thank you!!
Oh, my! I read your posts all the time and always get so much from them, so many thanks for that. This one seemed to send a flaming arrow straight through me to open something that has been locked away for more years than I care to admit. Thank you, seems a paltry phrase for such an epiphany.
Steve,
I was listening to the Jocko Willink podcast a year or two ago, when he first started. One of the questions he answered was, “What does it take to be mentally tough?”
Jocko answered, “It is a decision.”
My immediate thought was, “Ok Jocko, I agree–however, there are days I have to make that decision 1000 times an hour. I am in a knife fight with myself.
I like your prescription–and I think where I continue to stumble at times is step 2: Respect this foe.
When I come out of a rut, and life returns to normal–I forget about my inner nihilist.
The Yetzer Hara makes much more sense to me. Respect this foe.
bsn
I swear, these always come to my inbox on the days when I need them. Thanks SP!
Thank Steven!
The 2nd, shadowy self Is real.
I see my life (and these of many friends) destroyed by it.
And as Steve says, ‘The battle must be fought anew every day.’
I would add that the second self may have some dark powers that you can put into your work. 🙂
Reminds me of a tale attributed to the Cherokee people: Inside a [man] are two wolves battling. One wolf is evil, anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, arrogance, greed, regret, lies, guilt, shame, false pride, self-pity, and ego. The other is good, joy, peace, love, hope, compassion, faith, [creativity?], and empathy. Which wolf wins? The one you feed. The sooner we recognize there are two wolves, the faster we’ll start starving one and feeding the other. Thanks Steve!
To Travis C.
Thanks, I’m writing that one down. Feed the good one!
I like the tale of the two wolves — one of my favorite artists is George Strombo who makes a point of suggesting his fans “Feed the Good Wolf” before playing his Sunday night radio shows.
But I don’t think Ego, Anger, or Sadness are bad things.
I think a lot of us believe they are because we’re taught that anger is the extreme, uncontrollable anger of a Norse berserker, who they say could not differentiate from friend or foe in the throes of their madness.
But in the real world, anger is given to you by God/Mother Nature as the Fight in the Fight-or-Flight response.
There are situations when we need to stand up for ourselves, or others, and anger helps with that.
And should no one ever be sad? It’s only human to miss people when they’re gone, especially when they’re gone too soon. Or to empathize with someone else’s suffering.
Finally, Ego is formed (so they say) when we realize we’re separate from our Mother.
We need an Ego to make our way in life. The trick is keeping it from growing too big, or too small.
Too big, and one has too little concern for others. Too small, and we sell ourselves short.
So eloquent. So very true. Seems I love both of them. Not a good de al for me. Thank you.
Say it ain’t so, this sounds hard but I know it is true. Have been aware but have not been able to wrestle this foe successfully.
When you place the negative force within and the positive without, you become hyper-responsible.
If the opposite, you victimize yourself.
Since the good inclination is subjective and is found in the outside world only as a manifestation, the same has to be true for the bad one.
Hope this makes sense.
Thanks, Marina, that makes a lot of sense! Seems to distill a huge amount of what I’ve experienced and observed.
Marina,
Would you mind elaborating? I feel like I”m on the cusp of understanding what you mean–and I think it is important. Reminds me of Jung’s ‘incorporating the shadow’.
bsn
“Even scarier” Absolutely!! And surely in the service of preventing growth and creativity, doesn’t this second self drag every other aspect of yourself down? Small-mindedness, egotism, dismissiveness, regret, moodiness…etc etc. Or perhaps that’s only me.
It seems imperative too to understand that that ugly voice of Resistance isn’t ‘me’. I’m reminded of Jill Bolte-Taylor who says in her book ‘A Stroke of Insight’ that the insistent toxic voice of the left-brain comes from a small clump of neurons, and she reminds us that that voice “isn’t you”. It’s something other than you.
Without Steve exposing this enemy to daylight, would I have ever become aware of it? Categorically no! I’m so grateful to Steve. Even though I still regularly fail to beat that swine (Resistance, not Steve), at least I’m aware that I’m in a daily battle for my very soul.
An elderly friend of min, now deceased was once asked how she could attend a Transcendental Meditation Group and be a Christian. Her response was I am old enough and wise enough to have learned to “pick the meat and leave the bone” to him in particular she also said, I wouldn’t advise you try it. She recognized his closed mindedness. All that to say (and I am 75 with a whole lot of life beneath the hood) there is a lot of meat here to pick. I also recognize a higher power because after almost 20 years in prison a prison school teacher told me God could change my life, and He did, but the war of the wills continues on. The difference is that now I know I have a choice on which one to feed. Oh, and I married the prison school teacher almost 40 years ago and together we remain.
Pretty awesome story John!
Pretty awesome story John.. hope you’re writing more about that. I’d like to read it..
As a psychotherapist and writer, I’m completely on board with the identification with the concept of resistance. I notice it within myself and within my clients and it doesn’t show up only in creativity. It’s a relational concept. Resistance from within is about our relationship with self; and resistance to and from external circumstances is often a reflection of our relationships with our earliest caregivers, which have become internalized.
I am wary of identifying inner resistance as a second self to be “battled to the death” in that we dis-identify from it and try to harm it some way or distance ourselves from it. In making it a “second self” which must be killed, we’re essentially fragmenting within.
In my personal view, I think the opposite needs to happen — we need to empathize with that part of ourselves, heal that part of ourselves, and integrate the wounds that caused it to be borne in the first place. How did we get so far from our original soul selves by living as humans, that our egos are now trying to keep us even farther apart and starting wars within?
Wars don’t end because of death. Wars will only end when people come together in love and compassion. Fragmented aspects of ourselves will only come together in integration and peace when all parts of ourselves — the “good, successful” ones and the “bad, resistant” ones — are accepted and seen, and not judged.
Be curious about the resistance. Be empathetic about the pain that caused it to arise. Be the pain’s best friend. Seek to understand it. And bring it closer. Battling it, suppressing it, numbing it, killing it…. will only make it stronger, and you will be separating yourself from yourself.
Resistance usually arises in early childhood when we’re creating our own internalized belief systems based on how we’re nurtured. Were caregivers encouraging? Safe? Able to be patient and teach patience? Did they allow creativity? Were they naturally curious and allow us to be naturally curious? Did they allow us to freely make mistake? Did they focus on enjoyment of the process, not the outcome or the achievement?
If we didn’t have caregivers like this, we formed limiting belief systems, which we carry forward until we change them. It’s the limiting beliefs that we label as resistance.
Limiting beliefs often appear as an “either/or” proposition. You’re either creative or you’re in resistance. But what if it’s a “both/and” proposition? You’re being creative and resistance is there too. I think they’re both sides of the same coin — you can’t have one without the other. You’re a soul, but you’re also a human. The soul is always confident and the human is often fearful. You can’t separate them (until the human actually dies). The goal is to bring them closer together so the lines of communication are clearer.
A difference between men and women.
This is my experience, as well. I see the work as relational, and the voice as arising from this conversation. Nice to hear your view, Suzanne!
Laura
That resonated with me. Thanks for writing it.
Beautiful. I agree with what you’ve written. That aspect of ourselves that causes such difficulty was formed for a reason. It initially arose to protect us. As we age and develop mentally and emotionally, the function it served in our early life is no longer beneficial. Yet, if it often doesn’t get the “update,” it can wreak havoc. However, if we attempt to kill it off, like any other entity, it will fight for its survival. So yes, be compassionate. Honor it. Thank it. Express gratitude for taking care of us when it was needed. Then tell it that it can relax now, kick up its feet, and sip an umbrella drink while I and other aspects of myself handle things for a bit.
The great screenwriter Dale Launer once described his take on what you call Resistance to me.
It went something like this:
Hopefully, you’re still in touch with your “inner child” who wants to play and have fun.
That aspect of you is enthusiastic, passionate, and *enjoys* being creative!
It likes to create regardless of outcome or consequence.
Your “inner parent” is more strict and critical: it tells you to follow the rules and do things correctly.
This aspect of you is concerned about having the right outcome and the right consequences.
Of course, we need both aspects of ourselves to be strong in order to create good art.
Without our inner critic to discern the difference between good work and not-so-good work, we could be deluded into thinking our worst work is equivalent to a great artist’s best work. Or our own best work.
But when the voice of the inner parent/critic is too strong, it becomes more difficult to be creative.
It’ll tell you that your work isn’t good enough. Not good enough artistically. Not good enough commercially.
It may even tell you that *you* aren’t good enough — then you can’t create anything at all.
If that happens, you need to tell your inner parent/critic to STFU and go away and let you play!
Because for an artist, our play *is* our work!
Ideally the act of creating should be a joyous one, not a laborious one.
To put it another way, you’re not having fun writing, you’re probably not doing very much of it.
I nearly didn’t post this last thing Dale said, because I don’t want to put any bad ideas in anyone’s head, but it’s the truth. You might find having a glass of wine or taking a puff on a joint helps shut up that inner critic.
He’s right. It can help. It used to help me. There were a few years when I did my best writing in the evenings with a few glasses of wine. Not only was it more stylish than my morning writing, but I wrote faster and said what I wanted to say in fewer words — just because my mood was boosted. A good mood does wonders for creativity.
But there was a time when I felt like I “needed” to have my wine in the evenings. It was so helpful in quickly killing the nervous tension that had built up from a long day at work, and I could get into my creative writing groove faster.
But no one really “needs” to drink or smoke to be creative — none of us needed it when we were kids.
When I’ve worked with creative people at a job I enjoyed, I didn’t “need” anything to be creative on the job.
So drinking or smoking is really just a shortcut to a good mood. It’s kind of cheating.
And it can be a slippery slope to an unhealthy dependence on a substance you don’t even need.
I don’t smoke myself, but a number of writers I know claim Blue Dream and other Sativa strains helps their creativity. However, I’ve noted most of the artists I know who regularly indulge in it tend to be more self-absorbed, flaky, and more likely to struggle to maintain long-term relationships with their significant others than those who abstain.
So…have a drink or a smoke if you feel it helps, but be sure you’re conscious about it.
(Writer Pet Peeve: that post looked better on my computer. One of these days I’m going to either figure out why the “line breaks” look differently after something I’ve written posts — it must have to do with hitting the return key — or I’m going to stop posting on any site other than my own).
You sure hit pay dirt with this post! There are many names for this shadow self, whether Resistance, yetzer hara or the carnal mind, as it’s called in the New Testament. The “inner critic” is another good description.
When we go back to Genesis where the snake introduced the first lie, the lie was believed and the shadow self was “born.” Hence the downfall of Adam and the beginning of duality. Two selves, instead of the one real self. As you said, the shadow self and the real self are locked in battle; one is a lie and the other is the truth. The real self was/is the likeness of Source, which is infinitely good.
In our human condition our saving grace is that we have free will. We can choose. Choosing occurs moment by moment. Travis pointed out the good and evil wolves in the Cherokee legend, and asked, “Which wolf will you feed?” Resistance only has power when you feed it. Indeed we have to recognize Resistance as unreal. It’s the shadow. Buddhists approach this dilemma with the world by seeking non-attachment, which they describe as freedom from lust, cravings and desires. The challenge is learning how to discern and weed out the lies. I don’t think we need to respect a lie. Inherently, it’s just that — a lie, not real. We need to expose a lie and fully see it, at which point it fades away. Truth remains because it’s real and forever constant. A shadow (when believed) occludes the truth, but truth is always there. Shadows are illusory. The deeply you understanding the truth, the more obvious the lies become.
Perhaps another way to view the dichotomy and tension between the Inner Parent/Inner Critic and the Inner Kid/Inner Creative theory would be to look at it as the tension between SuperEgo and Id. Or Logic vs. Emotion.
Ideally, we want to integrate all of that stuff.
Because you need all of it if you’re going to make people care.
About 10 years ago, I read a script by an American guy who was a technically perfect writer, but I couldn’t bring myself to care about anything he’d written about, because I didn’t feel any fundamental passion or talent.
I really didn’t know what to say to help the guy, and I felt bad about it, because he’d been a friend to me, and he was completely convinced he was on the right track. He had at least 10 other scripts, each of which, I suspected, suffered from the same problems. I asked a mutual writer friend (who was and probably still is a better writer than I am) what he thought of the script, and he corroborated my opinion, only much more harshly.
That writer knew all of “the rules” of spelling and grammar and screenwriting — but it didn’t matter.
I instinctively felt like he needed a professional psychiatrist, but how could I possibly say that to him?
On the other hand, I once read a script by an Irish (?) guy that was chock-full of spelling and grammatical errors, but it was so passionate and evocative that I tried hard to be very encouraging because he had such a strong voice. I remember the script was called “The Collectors” or something like that. I believe his name was Liam Mulvey.
I wasn’t sure if it was possible for him to ever get his basic writing skills up to a professional level, but I hope he did.
I couldn’t help but admire that guy, for putting his wart-filled work out there into the world for criticism, despite the fact that any high school English teacher would have given him a “C” at best because of all of its errors.
On some level, knowing “the rules” is important. That guy’s never going to get work as a television writer.
Or any other kind of writer, unless he gets his basic skill level up, or hires a proofreader and an editor.
But he had heart and courage and he had a real ear for dialog. At least I felt that way.
I’d much rather read a better-written version of his script again than one lacking feeling.
Great read. I often feel like you are the General who comes to the trenches to tell us how we are going to get out alive. There’s an old EST saying: The only way out is through. Through awareness, respect, determination and resolution. Thank you, Steven Pressfield.
“Why would our Creator pull such a trick on us?” He doesn’t. The Creator wants you to succeed, to become the person you were created to be far more than you do. The resistance you’re talking about comes from the Creator’s greatest enemy, the one who is out to destroy anything and anyone he can. And if you don’t have a tight relationship with the Creator, you may find it easy to be persuaded by this enemy to give up.
In Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) we assume that every part of us has a positive intention. From this point of view, the shadow self may want to protect us from criticism or harm.
If we give it a voice and ask it what it’s positive intention might be, it might be something like “I want to keep you safe.”
If you respond, “Thank you. If you were able to keep me as safe as possible, what would that do for me that’s even more important?” it might respond, “To enable you to accomplish your mission.”
(So it’s trying to help me accomplish my mission? Really? Who knew?)
Then you can ask: “If I was able to fully and completely accomplish my mission, how would that keep me safer than you can possible imagine?”
When this part realizes that accomplishing the mission keeps you safe, you get a lot less resistance.
There’s always a higher level purpose, but it’s going at it the wrong way.
Turn resistance into an ally.
John 10:10 “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill and to destroy.
I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
KJV
Thanks for this. Steve. Interesting that Judaism has a name for it too. Very like the “negative animaus” of the Jungians, the “predator” of the shamanic tradition, and the “sinful sel” mentioned in the Seth Material. Also the “archons” of the ancient gnostics. To notice it and realize the negative messages are not from me, but from the negative seff, seems the work of all of us who aspire to higher awareness and to live a creative life. Although I don’t personally resonate to the “battle with my enemies” metaphr, it certainly has worked for you. You are a light int the darkness.
CM
“There is a second self inside you, an inner, shadow Self. This self doesn’t care about you. It doesn’t love you. It has its own agenda, and it will kill you. It will kill you like cancer.”
The Rabbi understood what ails mankind.
“Trust me: you will NEVER, NEVER achieve your dreams until you learn to recognize, confront and overcome that voice in your head that is your own Resistance.”
The Author provided me with a strategy to overcome…to win.
Thank you, Mr. Pressfield.
Semper fi Rabbi Finley!
The inner battles are the most difficult ones we face. These posts are the armament we require to do battle.
I wonder if it is a coincidence, the striking similarity between Ohr HaTorah and the battle cry of the U.S. Marines: Oorah!
I believe that Resistance does not believe it is harming us. Resistance mistakenly believes it is acting in our best interests. It is the most primitive part of our brain that–above all else–wants to keep us safe. If resistance could lock us in a cinderblock cell to protect us from every possible danger, it would, not realizing that the cell would kill us.
I’m not a marine. My uncle was in the army. My dad was in the navy but doesn’t consider himself a veteran because the war ended when the submarine he was navigating was only four days into the Pacific. My brother was in the army. When he came back from basic training he looked like a different person, and he showed off by doing 50 push-ups followed by one-handed push-ups.
The marines tried to recruit me in high school–I probably got something from the marines once or twice a month. When they called and asked to speak to Jule, I said, “This is she.” The man said, “You’re a girl.” I said, “Yes.” He said nothing so I did. “You don’t want girls, do you.” “No.”
Instead of going to war with the me that is so afraid she puts on battle gear to beat me into a cinderblock cell, I say this:
“I see you.
I know you want the best for me, you want to keep me safe.
I am going to write now and it’s okay. People might not like what I write but that won’t kill me.
Thank you for wanting to protect me. Thank you for doing the best you know to take care of me.”
Then I tell Resistance it has to get out of the driver’s seat and sit in the back. I give it a blanket and some animal crackers.
Resistance settles down.
And I go to work.
This approach isn’t better, it’s just the difference between the yang and the yin, the male and the female, the sun and the moon. We need both.
Well said!
Been soaking up Finley’s ideas for years. Not so much these days but I’m glad to be reminded of the yetzer hara, which is a royal pain in the arse.
Although I resonate with the idea of Second Self, I’m doubting that the nature of it is purely evil. To me, the Second Self is a delusional part of my character, that helped me to survive in the past, but most of the time it is playing too safe in the present. Maybe it’s better to have a collaboration between the two rather than a war?
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Thank you so much dear Steve.
It is there. It has so many faces and procedures that I dare to think that not even the best of us can escape it’s wide range of attacks.
Acknowledgement, Respect and Determination are three so basic procedures against it but they are easily forgotten. Maybe someone should write them down on paper and read it everyday to remind him/herself. Even then, distractions will follow. Strangely, knowing the Path has only a little to do (although that little may be a lot in some way) with reaching the destination.
I can see now that there are ways that we get distracted that are even more invinsible than we know. I can feel some in the minutes, in the seconds of trying to work. I can feel some here and there, in microtime or macrotime or the present between -it would be so interesting to try and gather them all.
The best weapon we have I think is *conscious action*. It needs building though, and if left unchecked it will disappear soon or late. More than that, it’s results will bring next phases of conscious action that will be crucial to adapt to from the beginning.
Only the moments that are conscious seem to be powerful on our side. All automatic moments, even those of good automations, seem to be mediocre or, worse, distructive.
Let’s Go. Let’s be the Planners and Doers of Originality. No Moment left to the Universe. So strange.
Ah! Just saw a beautiful painting-like image of Resistance. It’s all those scam posts here at your comments. Without knowing it, all those people show us in a beautiful way how Resistance is like. Chaotic, soulless, indifferent, trying to catch on our insticts.
Interesting! Read something, think it is good and it resonates, which inspires an action (click through because let’s confirm we like this and that it makes sense for us to adopt/pursue), then we are rewarded with a history of many in agreeance sharing helpful perspectives, and THEN 😳 what can derail us: All. That. Spam. It lives in this thread and I am glad I scrolled on by it all to realize that it is an annoyance, but one that exposes itself as fraud. Each spammy comment looks less and less relevant in this way, as you witness them. Could be a hindrance though, if you are fooled to think that the whole process of learning and discovery, inspiration and action, is spoiled by it. I’m going to say my lesson here today was Patience. And trust in the first self’s ability, when presented with the obstacles contained in every challenge, to say, “okay, I see ya–Next!” Thanks, Steve!
The second self, the yetzer hara, is referred to as the material mind and the human condition in my community. I do not see it as an enemy that is personally opposed to me. It is the manifestation of the fear of annihilation that resides within me and all about me within my material mind and the human condition that arises out of the resistance of over eight billion souls.
I do not feel that my material mind in its present condition wants to kill me. I see it as an agent of death and destruction because it reacts to everything I experience with fear and other resistant thoughts and emotions. I feel that my material mind is trying to help me survive, but it cannot because it draws its limited powers from the chaotic currents of separation and the dark clouds of fear that humanity has chosen to create in response to the outpouring of the infinite unconditional love of the Spiritual Source of Life.
My material mind and the human condition are deadly forces because they attract what they fear without awareness of the law of attraction. They work to prevent me from taking the steps that will help me to fulfill my destiny and the destinies of over eight billion souls. Resistance prevents me from making as much progress on my projects as I could. It is the force that has brought our planet on the brink of ecological, atmospheric, hydrological, and geological collapse.
This resistance within and without craves certainty and status and autonomy and fairness. It cares naught for that which is good, true, or beautiful. It is too afraid to love, to be vulnerable, to care deeply. It is like a fortress that becomes a tomb. It desires to survive and to accumulate the symbols of survival (AKA material success) at any cost to convince itself that it will not die as it fears. As it must.
My false self thinks it perceives reality when it merely fabricates that which is unreal to reinforce its own limited and limiting perspective. It manufactures its own justifications out of the dark archetypes and dysfunctional patterns available within the human condition.
I have been engaged in a spiritual practice to gradually replace these dark elements with the essence of the Source which is unconditional and incorruptible love and light. Every day I pray for the continued displacement of this inner darkness that fears annihilation while unknowingly careening toward that same outcome. I’m grateful for this practice for it has helped me gain ground against resistance, but the war is far from over. I still struggle against the darkness every single day. Every moment is a battle where I allow love to win or lose ground to fear.
I appreciate all who continue to actively struggle toward the light in their efforts to overcome the darkness within and without. May all of our prayers for light and love be answered as we respond to the call of our souls toward those things that only we can do to bring greater light and love into a world shrouded by the smog and filth of our inner and collective resistance. Resistance will ultimately lose, but not without a great and persistent struggle on the part of those who dare to choose life instead of death.
The Resistance has many names and many people have recognized it. This force has been an obsession of mine for many years, and I have read about it in many books. Here are some of them:
1. Wake Up and Live!, Dorothea Brande, 1936. Brande calls it “The Will to Fail”. Today this is still favorite book on Resistance.
2. Rational Recovery, Jack Trimpey, 1996. Trimpey calls it “The Beast”.
3. Brain over Binge, Kathryn Hansen, 2015. Hanse calls it “The lower brain”.
4. The Tools, Phil Stutz and Barry Michels, 2013. Stutz calls it Part X. (See also their other book Coming Alive)
5. The War of Art, Steven Pressfield , 2011.
6. The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle, 2005. Tolle calls it the Pain Body.
Although these authors look at the Resistance from somewhat different perspective, they are all identifying this destructive force within us. The books that are well written imho and are full of insight are number 1, 3, 4 and 5. I would recommend taking a peek at these first. lidenalex at zoho.com.
I’ve been listening to the War of Art on repeat for a while now. I occasionally bounce from it to psychocybernetics, the obstacle is the way, laws of power/human nature, and back. I feel like I understand a good deal of when I am self sabotaging my projects, but how do I know when I make a strategic pivot if it’s not self sabotage? I’ve been considering a new content strategy in where I don’t host any content anywhere except hosting accounts I own, so that the flow of views can’t be shut off with an algorithm update effectively ended what felt like years of work building said audience. I can’t decide if this is a smart pivot or a self defeating one…
Dear Steve, great comment. I had the visceral voices of self-loathing and I was asked in therapy if I could “turn in” and thank the voices for trying to protect me. Huh? Very wierd and counterintuitive. And the voices have largely receded and been very quiet. My therapist says all truth is paradox.
This should save someone thousands of dollars in therapy.
Always helpful and thought-provoking and well-written. Thanks!
Cute story but I don’t buy it. There’s nothing in me that wants to destroy me. Quite the contrary in fact. “Resistance” as Steve calls it is the organism, the body, attempting to preserve us. Keep us safe and alive. It’s primordial. Is it rational? Does it serve us in most circumstances? No. We don’t need to situation ourselves above it either. It should receive equal respect. Awareness would show you the way of things, if you could still your thoughts, beliefs and myths long enough.
Word! Amen, brother.
Hello Steven. I would like to know your answer as to why nature/evolution may have evolved us this way? Then, I am curious about how to overcome things without using the same energy from which they arise. Fighting something that fights or wants to fight, seems like it would simply trap me in delusion. Currently, I am taking a class on lucid dreaming, that I am semi-failing (potentially). In this class, they say everything in a dream is a part of us. If I am lucky enough to remember and then analyze a dream, I find this rather interesting and potentially troubling. I am failing the class because once, I did have a lucid dream and I was chased, and found it hard to get back into my body, which was terrifying. I do not know that I am in agreement that the characters chasing me are me. Maybe. The instructor suggested if I have this lovely opportunity (yes that is sarcasm) again, I can stand up to them and allow myself to be killed. Somehow, this is not in alignment for me. But this exploration is very alive for me now. And I am quite curious about resistance and how to live in more trust, anxiety free. I realize my comment is buried here amidst hundreds of others and it is unlikely you will see it (if you want to experience a meaningful life away from your computer), so I will drop it into the thread as a form of prayer to God…who I often grab demandingly and request an answer. What is this thing that holds us back? You seem to be pointing at it here. And enticing me with your words today. Is it ego? Is ego a bad thing? I really want to understand this as I know in some ways, I play small simply thinking that will keep it in check. XO…
Dear Steeve, Thank you ! valuable insights you’ve shared.
I believe our inner yetzer, often considered as our second self, plays a role in generating resistance towards the external world. Have you had a chance to explore Colin Wilson’s remarkable work, “The Mind Parasites,” science fiction horror novel which explores a similar theme? … Endless topic
Wow! Thanks, I surely did need to read that. Thank you for writing it. I’m a huge fan.
Thanks
The truth is behind the disclaimer, not in the disclaimer. Ive read a good many of your works and admire you dearly. I’d say you’re more of a devout mystic than you care to admit. Why? It’s either fear of judgement from the limited Western philosophy and mindset or for fear of scaring away the muse as if she’s a fragile dove that has just landing on your window seal. I believe you’ve structured your entire life around protecting that dove and making her feel welcome that you would go to any length to keep her perched on the ledge of your window. You have a beautiful mind and you are kind to write. May your spirit be absorbed by her beauty when your time is done and travel with the likes of the greats, for with them is where you belong and with her is where you’ll go.
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Steven, this post is powerful. The concept of a “second self” as Resistance is both unsettling and eye-opening. It’s a clear reminder that our biggest challenges often stem from within. Recognizing and confronting this inner foe is essential for overcoming it. Thanks for illuminating this internal struggle we all face.
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Does it always have the same strength? Because I’ve found that the more I override that voice, the smaller and quieter it gets. It will never disappear forever, but through hard work, consistency, and resiliency, we can turn down the volume on it.
Let me know what you think!
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